As is well known in the art, the emotional and instinctual system of the human brain is commonly referred to as the “limbic system”. The limbic system provides and controls inborn and acquired behavior. The limbic system is also the seat of instincts, emotions and motivation.
The instinctual and emotional activity (or behavior) of the limbic system includes food and water intake, desire and limits. Thus, the instinctual and emotional disorders relating thereto, such as compulsive overeating and other eating disorders, is associated with the limbic system.
As is also well known in the art, the brain modulates (or controls) limbic system via electrical signals (i.e., action potentials or neuro-electrical signals), which are transmitted through the nervous system. The nervous system includes two components: the central nervous system, which comprises the brain and the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which generally comprises groups of nerve cells (i.e., neurons) and peripheral nerves that lie outside the brain and spinal cord. The two systems are anatomically separate, but functionally interconnected.
As indicated, the peripheral nervous system is constructed of nerve cells (or neurons) and glial cells (or glia), which support the neurons. Operative neuron units that carry signals from the brain are referred to as “efferent” nerves. “Afferent” nerves are those that carry sensor or status information to the brain.
A typical neuron includes four morphologically defined regions: (i) cell body, (ii) dendrites, (iii) axon and (iv) presynaptic terminals. The cell body (soma) is the metabolic center of the cell. The cell body contains the nucleus, which stores the genes of the cell, and the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which synthesizes the proteins of the cell.
The cell body typically includes two types of outgrowths (or processes); the dendrites and the axon. Most neurons have several dendrites; these branch out in tree-like fashion and serve as the main apparatus for receiving signals from other nerve cells.
The axon is the main conducting unit of the neuron. The axon is capable of conveying electrical signals along distances that range from as short as 0.1 mm to as long as 2 m. Many axons split into several branches, thereby conveying information to different targets.
Near the end of the axon, the axon is divided into fine branches that make contact with other neurons. The point of contact is referred to as a synapse. The cell transmitting a signal is called the presynaptic cell, and the cell receiving the signal is referred to as the postsynaptic cell. Specialized swellings on the axon's branches (i.e., presynaptic terminals) serve as the transmitting site in the presynaptic cell.
Most axons terminate near a postsynaptic neuron's dendrites. However, communication can also occur at the cell body or, less often, at the initial segment or terminal portion of the axon of the postsynaptic cell.
The electrical signals transmitted along the axon the interact with the limbic system, referred to as action potentials, are rapid and transient “all-or-none” nerve impulses. Action potentials typically have an amplitude of approximately 100 millivolts (mV) and a duration of approximately 1 msec. Action potentials are conducted along the axon, without failure or distortion, at rates in the range of approximately 1-100 meters/sec. The amplitude of the action potential remains constant throughout the axon, since the impulse is continually regenerated as it traverses the axon.
A “neurosignal” is a composite signal that includes many action potentials. The neurosignal also includes an instruction set for proper system and organ function. A limbic system neurosignal would thus include an instruction set for chewing and swallowing of food, drinking of water, etc.
Neurosignals or “neuro-electrical coded signals” are thus codes that contain complete sets of information for complete system and organ function. As set forth in Co-Pending Application Ser. No. 11/125,480, filed May 9, 2005, once these neurosignals, have been isolated, recorded and standardized, a nerve-specific neuro-electrical signal or instruction can be generated and transmitted to a subject to control the limbic system and, hence, treat a multitude of disorders associated therewith. The noted disorders include, but are not limited to, various eating disorders, such as compulsive overeating and obesity, bulimia and anorexia nervosa.
The increasing prevalence of eating disorders, particularly obesity, in adults (and children) is one of the most serious and widespread health problems facing the world community. It is estimated that currently in American 55% of adults are obese and 20% of teenagers are either obese or significantly overweight. Additionally, 6% of the total population of the United States is morbidly obese.
This data is alarming for numerous reasons, not the least of which is it indicates an obesity epidemic. Many health experts believe that obesity is the first or second leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, with cigarette smoking either just lagging or leading.
It is the consequences of being overweight that are most alarming. Obesity is asserted to be the cause of approximately eighty percent of adult onset diabetes in the United States, and of ninety percent of sleep apnea cases. Obesity is also a substantial risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, chronic venous abnormalities, numerous orthopedic problems and esophageal reflux disease. More recently, researchers have documented a link between obesity, infertility and miscarriages, as well as post menopausal breast cancer.
Despite these statistics, treatment options for obese people are limited. Classical models combining nutritional counseling with exercise and education have not led to long term success for very many patients. Use of liquid diets and pharmaceutical agents may result in weight loss which, however, is only rarely sustained. Surgical procedures that cause either gastric restriction or malabsorption have been, collectively, the most successful long-term remedy for severe obesity. However, this type of surgery involves a major operation, can lead to emotional problems, and cannot be modified readily as patient needs demand or change.
Various “electrical stimulation” apparatus, systems and methods have also been employed to treat compulsive overeating and obesity. Illustrative are the systems and methods disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,263,480 and 6,587,719, and U.S. Pat. Application Publications 2005/0033376 A1 and 2004/0024428 A1.
The noted “electrical stimulation” systems and methods, as well as most known systems, primarily involve the transmission of electrical impulses to a subject to induce a feeling of nausea and, hence, discourage food intake by the subject.
It has, however, been recently found that those afflicted with ageosia (i.e. loss of taste) or anosmia (i.e. loss of smell) typically suffer from a persistent loss of appetite and/or desire to eat. Modulating (or blocking) the sense of taste and/or the sense of smell in a subject thus provides an effective means for controlling eating behavior of the subject and, hence, treating various eating disorders; particularly, compulsive overeating.
It would thus be desirable to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for generating and transmitting confounding neuro-electrical signals to a subject that are adapted to modulate the subject's sense of taste and/or smell, i.e. confound the naturally generated neuro-electrical signals and thereby restrict the transfer of information associated with the sense of taste and smell to the brain. It would also be desirable to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for generating and transmitting simulated neuro-electrical signals to a subject that are adapted to induce or enhance the subject's sense of taste and/or smell.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that overcomes the drawbacks associated with prior art methods and systems for regulating eating behaviors.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for generating at least one confounding neuro-electrical signal that is adapted to confound at least one neuro-electrical signal that is generated in the body and associated with the sense of taste, and thereby restrict the transfer of information associated therewith to the brain when transmitted to the subject.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for generating at least one confounding neuro-electrical signal that is adapted to confound at least one neuro-electrical signal that is generated in the body and associated with the sense of smell, and thereby restrict the transfer of information associated therewith to the brain when transmitted to the subject.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for generating at least one simulated neuro-electrical signal that is adapted to induce or enhance the sense of taste when transmitted to a subject.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for generating at least one simulated neuro-electrical signal that is adapted to induce or enhance the sense of smell when transmitted to a subject.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for monitoring food intake or consumption of a subject.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for transmitting confounding or simulated neuro-electrical signals to a subject to modulate the subject's sense of taste and smell in response to the subject's food intake exceeding or falling below a predetermined threshold level.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that includes means for timed transmission of confounding or simulated neuro-electrical signals to a subject, whereby the subject's sense of taste and/or sense of smell is modulated.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and system for modulating eating behavior that can be effectively employed to treat various eating disorders, including, without limitation, compulsive eating and obesity, bulimia and anorexia nervosa.